Starring Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm

Directed by Josh Cooley

Paramount

The rise of Optimus Prime and Megatron

The Transformers 40th anniversary year has been mixed in success of celebrating itself, although it has been a fine year for all things Optimus Prime, mostly by way of the toys. The most recent cinematic release before this one, albeit a limited one in the form of the first four episodes of the original cartoon series screened alongside a readthrough of Episode 1, was a strange package, but the last quarter has something different – a new release which is a fresh origin story starting before Optimus Prime and Megatron rose to both power and fame… or infamy, depending on your viewpoint. Transformers One is a breath of fresh air, an animated feature which is something of a return to the feel of adventure from the early days of the franchise, before its other animated counterpart changed everything.

There is an excellent fusion of old and new both in terms of the lore the movie imparts and the tale itself. The formula of “lead protagonists stuck in the mundane and yearning for something more, only to find one seemingly small act of rebellion that thrusts them into changing their fates forever” is not of course new. When it is done well, however, it is a magic formula for success, and Transformers One does so exceptionally. The friendship between Orion Pax and D-16 is clear from their first appearance; Pax the impulsive risk taker who is constantly getting himself and his friend into trouble and D-16 the rock who always has his back when he does. He may complain about it, but he’ll never let Pax down. From early on then, it is of considerable intrigue as to how Pax becomes the fearless leader of the Autobots, a force for good wherever he goes and how D-16 evolves into Megatron, the merciless ruler of the Decepticons who is relentless in his pursuit of power, regardless of collateral consequences. This tale does a remarkable job of ensuring the viewer understands, and to some degree sympathises with how they got there, given the amount of ground required to cover. Prime’s rise is an easier tale to tell in some ways, whereby Megatron reaches his apex through sheer rage, and a sense of injustice he is willing to deal with by any means necessary.

For the two leaders of their respective philosophies to disagree on how they achieve a goal, there must be a common enemy cause, and it comes through a systematic evil they discover through their inadvertent adventure. The social commentary in the film set up around Cybertronian society was not an aspect I expected to be as strong, but it really centres the entire experience and asks some powerful questions of class structures, systemic inequality and even colonialism without ever breaking the momentum of the adventure.

They are not alone in their adventures either. We are given support cast through the tale of the legendary Primes, founding heroes of Cybertron who have met with their own tragedy, one which sits at the heart of the tale. The now ubiquitous Bumblebee (B-127) has a fresh origin here too but is a very different comic relief in that he is somewhat goofier than previous treatments. This does not stop him being a significant character by any means though. Sentinel Prime is one of the best treatments of this character you will see, with surprising echoes of The Boys’ Homelander given this is a family story.

A special mention has to be given to the two female character leads as well. Elita-One originally appeared as an old love interest of Optimus Prime’s, in his first appearance as Orion Pax. Here, she is his line manager constantly being dragged into trouble due to Pax’s bungling on adventures. The last time he does it though is a very important one. She does not have the growth that the lead two do, but doesn’t need to as much due to starting at a higher point. Voiced by Scarlett Johanssen there are elements of Black Widow dealing with Chris Hemsworth’s Pax, and the time they share on screen, much like the rest of the film, reference past and present regularly. As good as she is though, the presence of Arachnia as essentially the chief henchwoman is a pleasant surprise, given the character appeared much later in the lore in a very different way. She is menacing and sometimes even terrifying in good order and quietly steals the support show with her prominence.

Verdict: Overall, I cannot recommend this enough. Of the recent Transformers movies, only Bumblebee is in the same breath in terms of heart and understanding the franchise. There is a deep love for all that has come before in every frame, and yet something that is its own which demands its own series, which hopefully it will receive. If there is one very small gripe, even though little to be done about it without stretching the film run time, is that Megatron’s origin is strong enough that it deserves more time to follow the path rather than clear stages of powering up. It certainly warrants further viewings, and I look forward to owning this, to watch as often as I return to the original 1986 animation. I’ll say this quietly, but objectively, it’s probably a better film.

9 transforming cogs out of 10

Russell A. Smith